Topic: Characters (Section 1 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? (A)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
JUSTIN: A
TYLER: B
GRANT: C
GLEN!: D
A- Group Leader- Justin
Throughout the first 1/5 of the book the main character in the text is Shane Hunter. Shane Hunter is a high school student that attends Shorelake Academy, the most expensive school in Seattle. Here Shane plays baseball. Shane plays one of the more important roles in baseball, as the closer for his team Shane is responsible for sealing the victory in the late innings while his team has the lead, and all of the pressure is on him. But, the pressure isn't just on him while he's pitching, but also at home. During one of his games, Shane's father was arrested, in front of everyone else in the bleachers, everyone in each of the dugouts, and everyone else that might be at the game. It turned out that Shane's father was arrested for money laundering. Ever since, Shane wasn't the same person or player he was. He was getting in fights with other kids on his team and couldn't pitch nearly as good as he was known for; walking kids, giving up home runs, and blowing saves. Because of the money laundering, Shane's family had to switch their lives dramatically. They lost tons of money to the point that they couldn't live the luxurious life they were accustomed to. For example, they moved from their expensive mansion, to a little house that was barely big enough for him, his sister and parents to live in. Simply said, Shane's life was changed dramatically. I can relate to this character because I also play baseball and realize how stressful the game can be.
Tyler B- Quotes 1."I'm Sorry. I did not mean for any of this to happen." - this is the letter that Shane's dad wrote to the family.
2.A few minuets later Dad came back, without mom. He crouched next to Marian and put her hands in his. "I want you to know," he said softly," that i love you" then looked at me. "That i love both of you, you know that don't you?" - I feel that this is a sign that something bad is going to happen because parents just don't come up to you and say they love you
3. Coach Levine is going to give me a ride. I've already talked to him. "His eyes fixed on me,". Are you ashamed of me Shane is that it? - Here Mr. hunter feels bad because he feels that his problems have affected his family which they did and here he notices it.
4.He loved you and he loved Marian, and he knew you loved him. He always knew it, even at the end. he just couldn't find his way. -This is saying that the dad knew he was going to jail so he lied to his kids that it was a mistake and they had the wrong guy.
5. While I'm gone, i want you to be kind to Marian. - This is when Shane and Marian are home alone and his mom told him to be kind. But Shane is allays kind, Mrs. Hunter wants him to be kind in the way of playing games with her and keep her mind on something else other than the fathers suicide.
Grant- C Open Ended Questions
1. In The story Shane's Life is turned upside-down and Shane starts to loose hope and give up. Has there ever been a time in your life when you gave up on something? Did it turn out ok in the end? Explain.
Yes there has been a time in all of our lives when we gave up on something. For example Tyler said that when he was little that when he would play legos and the pieces would break. He would keep trying to build legos and it turned out good in the end.
2. How would you feel if you were in Shane's Position? Happy, Angry, Sad?
In Shane's position Justin would be pissed off and helpless because Shane did not have control in the situation. The dad basically committed suicide and left the family to fend for themselves with no real sort of income
3. How do you think Shane's view of his father has changed after his death?
After his death Shane view of his father definitly changed. He was probably angry, upset, and felt really bad that his father would abandon his family like that. I would hate my father if left my family with all the problems that he himself had created
4. In this section of the book Shane turns to drugs and alcohol for his problems. Is there a better way to deal with anger? How would you deal with it?
There is better ways to deal with problems such as talking to your parents, teacher, and guidance counselor. Glenn deals with anger by punching his pillow.
5. In the begining of the book Shane and his father talk about moving to a public school. They talk how public school kids "all dont know how to read, but get A's anyways". Do you think there is predigest against public and private school kids? What do you think about private school kids?
Yea there is definitely predigest. We think that private school kids and snobby and rich. Also, that they are weird and think they are better and smarter than public school kids
D-Glenn Today in our group we talked about the characters. The discussion was a little of topic but we were able to talk about the people and how we felt about them. We all understood you Shane was upset and was doing what he was because he missed his father. The group needs a few to get on topic but we were able to get what we needed done. There are many things that we did discussed that we all wanted to talk more about. Things like what would we have done in his situation? Would we have turned to the same things he did? These are things that came to all of your minds.
Week Two: October 8
Topic: Language (Section 2 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read?yes this book is easy. it is a very easy book to visuals. Conversational? good dialog easy to understand "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? no the words are simple What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? 7th-11th because it many not have difficult words but the story line is easy to understand for our age.
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
A Glenn
B Justin
C Tyler
D Grant
Quotes(B)- Justin
“I won’t get home until after one,” she said, “so I am counting on you to look after Marian. Make sure she does her homework, takes a shower, and gets to bed on time. You understand?”- This quote shows how much Shane’s life has changed from where he never had to watch Marian because either Shane’s mom would watch Marian or when she couldn’t Shane’s dad would. But since Shane’s dad killed himself Shane had to start taking over the father role in the family by watching his sister and what not.
“That morning I pawed the ground, glancing up every so often, hoping to see the ugly yellow school bus that would get me off the street. Where was it? Would it ever come?- This quote shows how embarrassed Shane is to live in this new town. And that when he used to live in the rich housing complex, Shane would drive by the same street he was on and think how miserable the kids here were.
“You meet kids, and pretty soon they ask what your name is and where you live, and all that. My dad’s name ad been in the paper and on the television news for money laundering, for drug dealing, for killing himself. The more you talk, the greater the chance somebody would figure things out. It was best not to talk to anyone. I went to school, wandered through the day, and came home.”- This quote shows how hard it was for Shane to make friends at his new school, Whitman High. No one wants to be friends with him because of all the things his family has been in the news about.
“Just do what I tell you. There’s nothing to it.” “For the next 5 minutes, we hung out around the corner form the store. I wanted to ask what was what, but I bit back the words. Justin kept watching the gas pumps. Finally, when three cars pulled up simultaneously, he took off his trench coat.” “Wear this,” he said handing it to me. “And do exactly what Lonnie tells you to do.” –During this part of the story Shane meets a kid his age named Lonnie Gibson, and his friend name Justin, who was a little older than them. Some nights, like this one, when they hung out they would go to a local mini mart and steal beer for them to drink. This quote explains Shane’s first time stealing the beer and what Lonnie and Justin had him do.
“There’s a Boys and Girls Club down in Ballard, which isn’t to far from Whitman High. Mr. Cornelius Grandison runs the program there, and he needs somebody to get the baseball diamond in shape for the upcoming season. That somebody will be you. Every day you will report to him after school until your twenty hours are complete.”- The judge in Shane’s case says this quote after he got busted for stealing the beer. This quote is important because this will change Shane’s life around dramatically with him starting to play baseball and getting his life back on line again.
C- Tyler - Discussion Questions
1. What was your first impression of Lonnie and Justin? My first impression of Lonnie and Justin was that they were shady and are probably bad kids because they were outside smoking at 12 on a school night, and also they steel beer from the convenient store.
2. Did you feel that shanes consequences from the Judge were to harsh? No, i feel that Shane got it off easy, in the worst case he could off had to gone to counseling class and do even more community service.
3.Why did Shane Feel that fixing up the baseball field was a total waste? Shane felt that fixing the field was a total waste because he does not get to play on the field, then after when he goes to granderson after all the hard work, granderson just tears him apart telling him that his dad was fake and that he did not deserve all the stuff that he had.
4.Do you feel that there was rivalry between Reece and Shane? Yes, because Shane was the star player at Shorelake and when he left, the kid that bought his house Reese became the star and they had a face off.
5.When Shane's Monthly checkup guy came to the house, did you feel when he said, " the Baseball coach is a very nice man", That the baseball coach was Granderson. Yes, I thought about that, and later on found out that granderson was the coach. When the counsiler said that he was a nice guy in a sarcastic but still serious manner i guessed it was granderson because he is the exact opposite.
Grant D
After reading 2/5 of High Heat, the book started to really pick up the pace. Last Friday we talked about the characters and how we were drawn to them. Last week's focus was much easier to right than the language. While discussing language was a much harder subject matter. We discussed that the author Carl Deuker uses vivid vocabulary that helps us visualize the story. Deuker also uses words that relate to our age group. Because of these words, we think that the book was directed towards students grade 7 to 11. This book is written in 3rd person so that the author can share the inter-most thoughts of a number of characters. Carl Deuker does a great job of using imagery , relating to his target audience, and keeping the story at a good pace.
We started off the meeting with another disappointment. None of the members had brought in food for our discussion. This is probably because we all have lunch right before the meeting. The first thing we did was talk about what was our favorite part of this section and what we did not like. After a general discussion about the book, we answered Tyler's Discussion questions. Then, we responded to Justin's quote and how we felt about each of them. Glen then asked us about the language of the book and we answered each question. We finished the meeting about 5 minutes early and I began writing this paragraph. I am excited for the next discussion about mood/tone yay!
Week Three: October 15
Topic: Mood/Tone (section 3 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? the biggest emotion is happiness even though his father kills him self. because he is able to accomplish so much. What examples back up your claim? when he started playing again and was doing well.
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
A Glenn
B Grant (absent so i did quotes)
C Tyler
D justin
B. Grant Quotes
"Riding home I thought about what my aunt Celia had said when my father was buried. I didn't want to hear it then because I didn't want to believe it. But she was right. No matter what happens to you, the world doesn't stop. Either you get on board or you dont." (Shane pg 187) WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK
A: This Shows that Shane is maturing and that he is getting over the death of his father. I proud of Shane and how he is turning his life around
" He's a fine young man, my mother said, looking at me and beaming. And he always was. He made a mistake, he faced it, and he learned from it. Didn't you Shane? WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK (Mr. Kraybill pg 190)
A. This once again shows that Shane has changed his life around. Mr. Kraybill, the parol officer is proud of Shane's Progress and so is his mom. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK
"It was the first time I had been on the mound in six months. I stared at homeplate, remebering how great it had felt to be on the mound with a baseball in my hand and a ball game on the line" (Shane pg 194)
A. This Shows that Shane has finally found his lost love for the game of baseball! WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK!
"Hating you won't get me back to where I was" ( Reese pg 199)
A. This shows that no only Shane is getting over his problems but Reese is as well.
" And Hows Reese Doing?"
"I Don't know, ok I guess."
A. This conversation shows that although Shane is coming back to his former self, Reese is still struggling.
Justin-D (Questions)
1. What do you think made Shane call Reese in the hospital after he hit him with the pitch? - We think that Shane called Reese after he hit him with the pitch because he realized that even if Reese did take Shane's life of luxury after he moved he realized that Reese also had the same passion and love for baseball that Shane did. So, Shane knew he could have ended Reese's career and Shane just pictured what his life would be like without baseball.
2. Why do you think Shane didn't actually go into Reese's room in the hospital or want his mom to take him to see Reese? - We think he didn't actually go and say sorry to Reese in the hospital because after a while of thinking Shane began to think that why should he be the one feeling sorry. His dad was the one that had just died and now the one living in city housing. So, the more and more he thought Shane began to think that even though Shane had gotten hit in the head that Reese still had it easier than him.
3. Why do you think Shane was so confident that he would be able to pitch the next game after he hit Reese in the head? -Because he felt that hitting Reese was an accident. That Reese was leaning over the plate so he tried throwing a pitch up and in to back him off the plate, but the ball came loose and sailed into Reese's head. Shane got this so engraved in his head, he felt like it wasn't his fault and he would be able to pitch no problem.
4. Why do you think Shane had trouble pitching in the first game after he hit Reese in the head? - Reese probably had trouble pitching in his first game since he hit Reese because when he got on the mound he started reliving the whole incident. When warming up Shane felt great; his pitches moving on their own. But, when Shane got on the mound and saw the batters, he just kept reminding himself of what happened with Reese.
5.How do you think Shane felt that Miguel Alvarez took his spot as closer for his team? - Shane probably felt mad and angry that he took his spot, but at the same time he felt that Miguel deserved a shot a closing games if he couldn't do it. Shane knew that if he wanted to get the closer position back he would have to work his hardest to do it.
Tyler- D Summarizer
Now 3/5 the way into our book High heat, this book is not to bad and is more motivating to finish. Also this weeks discussion topic, Mood and tone gets us the readers more in depth about the story. Tone is the emotional atmosphere of the book as Mood is the emotions of the characters. The main tone in High heat i feel is when ever Shane thinks about his dad. This is a reoccurring theme in the novel and whenever Shane thinks about him something not so good happens to him. Shane the main character of our novel has several Moods, Shane was curios when he pegged Reese and he had to go to the hospital. Shane called the hospital and also made a trip there to see if Reese was OK. Also another one of shane's biggest moods is Nervousness. Whenever pitching on the sideline he does amazing, but hen he steps on the mound, everything falls apart because his nerves get to him.
This weeks actual in class discussion went very well. My group members and i had a thorough discussion about the book. Also this weeks topic mood and tone got us even more in depth. In class we started out just talking about this weeks reading, then went on to each and every one of our members parts. I feel that this weeks discussion was one of our best, and cant wait to have next weeks.
Week Four: October 22
Topic: Themes/Images (section 4 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning?
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
A Tyler
B. Grant quotes again =(
C. Glenn
D. Justin
A. Tyler- Group Leader
Most of the themes in the book High Heat are very significant to the story. Some major
B. Grant Quotes
" My arm felt strong as iron, and when I rocked and fired, it was pure smoke" (Shane pg 220)
A. This quote shows that Shane is back in action. Shane has not only got back his skill but he has become more confident and has an even better pitch
"I mean they'll see you too. Take Wood tonight. He asked a lot of questions about Kim, but also he asked a couple about you..."
A. This shows the possibility of Shane's Dream coming true. Now the idea of recieving a baseball scholarship is Shane's ultimate goal!
" There is someone here to meet you Shane, this is Coach Dravus from the University of Portland." (Coach Grandison pg. 225)
A. Before Shane was not sure that schools would actually look at him for scholarships. Coach Dravus from the University of Portland will be watching Shane, but now the pressure is on
" That afternoon the ball felt strange in my hand. I couldn't focus on homeplate, couldn't get comfortable on the mound. My pitcjes were wild and they had no movement..."
A. This shows that although Shane has been having great sucess on the mound, the pressure of recieving a college scholarship is getting to his head.
" Now he had looked worse than he'd looked in the summer. Worse than he had looked in December, January, and Feburary.."
A. Although Shane has overcome his fears pitching on the mound, Reese had yet to overcome this challenge. This shows that Reese is not the same and might never be his former self
Justin Schwarz- Summary C
This weeks group meeting was shorter than most of the other ones considering we had our vocab quiz and watched the spoof on Of Mice and Men. But, another disappointing thing about this weeks meeting was that nobody bought in food again. This weeks topic for our discussion was themes and images. Overall this weeks discussion was successful and we were able to get through all of our jobs and talk about this section of the book despite the shortened meeting. First off this week, as a group we just discussed what went on during this weeks meeting. We talked about how the main characters of our book put their hatred behind them. Then, we talked about this weeks theme and which is the most reoccurring theme of the book. Once we all agreed on the theme and images of the book we discussed this weeks discussion questions that Glenn came up with and as a group and came up with answers to those. After we discussed these questions we went on to Grant's quotes and discussed them. We talked about why these quotes were important to the characters and plot to the book. After we did this our group meeting was basically over. Overall this group discussion was very successful.
Week Five: October 29 (LAST MEETING)
Topic: Responding to the Text (section 5 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum? (B)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page.
Book Club Schedule
You should divide your book into 5 equal sections. For example, if your book has 100 pages, you should have five 20 page sections. You should read the appropriate section for each meeting.
Requirements:
PERSON A - GROUP LEADER - This group member will be responsible for both keeping the group on task throughout the meeting as well as responding to the week's topical questions, listed below.
PERSON B - QUOTATION FINDER - This group member will be responsible for finding 5 important, meaningful quotations from their section of the text. They will also facilitate a discussion regarding these quotations.
PERSON C - KEY QUESTIONER - This group member will be responsible for providing 5 open-ended questions regarding the week's reading section. These questions, and their responses, will be posted on the group's wiki.
PERSON D - GROUP SUMMARIZER - This group member will be responsible for posting a thorough, two-paragraph summary of the group's Friday meeting, to be posted on the group wiki no later than the Sunday following the meeting.
Groups will decide appropriate penalties for group members who fail to uphold their responsibilities.
A Justin
B Tyler
C Grant
D Glen
A- Group Leader- Justin
Our overall impression of the final part of the book was that the book was a good book. It had a good plot and story-line to it and was interesting to read. It was also a pretty easy book to read language wise. The book had its twists and turns to it which made the book even more interesting. We decided that we would recommend this book to someone that either enjoys reading about sports, especially baseball. Or someone that enjoys reading about the twists and turns of real life. Because there were several times in this book that focused more on Shane's life than his baseball. So, this book would be good for many people to read considering the wide range of people that would enjoy reading it. Yes, we would recommend this book to friends or to be on the schools book list.
B.Tyler- Quotes
1."Shane, Whether you get a scholorship or not, that a college coach would consider you is an honor" This is when Shanes mom got the news about him being looked at by colleges. it is truely rare that a college coach would look at you. You have to have a real talent.
2. "Mom says she will try to go too some of your games" This is the first time that Shane's mom is making an effort to go to one of his games. She never went to one before. She is only going because of his scholarship purposes.
3. "Come on Reese" I said "Do it" This is Shane rooting for Reese in the championship game. Even though they are on opposite teams, they grew such a good relationship that they care about each other rather than the game.
4. "On the bench before the game we were tight. if we could just get a run in the first we would loosen up" i picked this quote because this is just how i feel in a game. When you play tense you do bad. If you score a run in the first you loosen up and have more fun and tend to do better.
5. "Im not going to beat around the brush Shane. I would like you to come to the University of Portland next year and pitch for us." This is when Shane gets proposed his scholarship. This is the happy ending of a sad story. Shane is a really lucky kid with lots of talent, and deserves what he earned.
C. Grant
1.Did you enjoy this book? If So what was your favorite part?
2. How would you feel if you were in Shane's position pitching against your former teammates?
3. What do you think Shane was feeling as he was pitching to Reese? Nervous, Confident, Scared.
4. What was the overall mood at the end of the story? How did it make you feel?
5. How has Shane changed from the beginning of the book to the end?
NOTE: If your book club has three members, the roles B and C should be combined; if your book club has five members, two students should take the role of C (5 questions each).
GRANT
JUSTINGLENN!!!
TYLER
Week One: October 1
Topic: Characters (Section 1 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? (A)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
JUSTIN: A
TYLER: B
GRANT: C
GLEN!: D
A- Group Leader- Justin
Throughout the first 1/5 of the book the main character in the text is Shane Hunter. Shane Hunter is a high school student that attends Shorelake Academy, the most expensive school in Seattle. Here Shane plays baseball. Shane plays one of the more important roles in baseball, as the closer for his team Shane is responsible for sealing the victory in the late innings while his team has the lead, and all of the pressure is on him. But, the pressure isn't just on him while he's pitching, but also at home. During one of his games, Shane's father was arrested, in front of everyone else in the bleachers, everyone in each of the dugouts, and everyone else that might be at the game. It turned out that Shane's father was arrested for money laundering. Ever since, Shane wasn't the same person or player he was. He was getting in fights with other kids on his team and couldn't pitch nearly as good as he was known for; walking kids, giving up home runs, and blowing saves. Because of the money laundering, Shane's family had to switch their lives dramatically. They lost tons of money to the point that they couldn't live the luxurious life they were accustomed to. For example, they moved from their expensive mansion, to a little house that was barely big enough for him, his sister and parents to live in. Simply said, Shane's life was changed dramatically. I can relate to this character because I also play baseball and realize how stressful the game can be.
Tyler B- Quotes
1."I'm Sorry. I did not mean for any of this to happen." - this is the letter that Shane's dad wrote to the family.
2.A few minuets later Dad came back, without mom. He crouched next to Marian and put her hands in his. "I want you to know," he said softly," that i love you" then looked at me. "That i love both of you, you know that don't you?" - I feel that this is a sign that something bad is going to happen because parents just don't come up to you and say they love you
3. Coach Levine is going to give me a ride. I've already talked to him. "His eyes fixed on me,". Are you ashamed of me Shane is that it? - Here Mr. hunter feels bad because he feels that his problems have affected his family which they did and here he notices it.
4.He loved you and he loved Marian, and he knew you loved him. He always knew it, even at the end. he just couldn't find his way. -This is saying that the dad knew he was going to jail so he lied to his kids that it was a mistake and they had the wrong guy.
5. While I'm gone, i want you to be kind to Marian. - This is when Shane and Marian are home alone and his mom told him to be kind. But Shane is allays kind, Mrs. Hunter wants him to be kind in the way of playing games with her and keep her mind on something else other than the fathers suicide.
Grant- C Open Ended Questions
1. In The story Shane's Life is turned upside-down and Shane starts to loose hope and give up. Has there ever been a time in your life when you gave up on something? Did it turn out ok in the end? Explain.
Yes there has been a time in all of our lives when we gave up on something. For example Tyler said that when he was little that when he would play legos and the pieces would break. He would keep trying to build legos and it turned out good in the end.
2. How would you feel if you were in Shane's Position? Happy, Angry, Sad?
In Shane's position Justin would be pissed off and helpless because Shane did not have control in the situation. The dad basically committed suicide and left the family to fend for themselves with no real sort of income
3. How do you think Shane's view of his father has changed after his death?
After his death Shane view of his father definitly changed. He was probably angry, upset, and felt really bad that his father would abandon his family like that. I would hate my father if left my family with all the problems that he himself had created
4. In this section of the book Shane turns to drugs and alcohol for his problems. Is there a better way to deal with anger? How would you deal with it?
There is better ways to deal with problems such as talking to your parents, teacher, and guidance counselor. Glenn deals with anger by punching his pillow.
5. In the begining of the book Shane and his father talk about moving to a public school. They talk how public school kids "all dont know how to read, but get A's anyways". Do you think there is predigest against public and private school kids? What do you think about private school kids?
Yea there is definitely predigest. We think that private school kids and snobby and rich. Also, that they are weird and think they are better and smarter than public school kids
D-Glenn
Today in our group we talked about the characters. The discussion was a little of topic but we were able to talk about the people and how we felt about them. We all understood you Shane was upset and was doing what he was because he missed his father. The group needs a few to get on topic but we were able to get what we needed done.
There are many things that we did discussed that we all wanted to talk more about. Things like what would we have done in his situation? Would we have turned to the same things he did? These are things that came to all of your minds.
Week Two: October 8
Topic: Language (Section 2 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read?yes this book is easy. it is a very easy book to visuals. Conversational? good dialog easy to understand "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? no the words are simple What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? 7th-11th because it many not have difficult words but the story line is easy to understand for our age.
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
A Glenn
B Justin
C Tyler
D Grant
Quotes(B)- Justin
C- Tyler - Discussion Questions
1. What was your first impression of Lonnie and Justin? My first impression of Lonnie and Justin was that they were shady and are probably bad kids because they were outside smoking at 12 on a school night, and also they steel beer from the convenient store.
2. Did you feel that shanes consequences from the Judge were to harsh? No, i feel that Shane got it off easy, in the worst case he could off had to gone to counseling class and do even more community service.
3.Why did Shane Feel that fixing up the baseball field was a total waste? Shane felt that fixing the field was a total waste because he does not get to play on the field, then after when he goes to granderson after all the hard work, granderson just tears him apart telling him that his dad was fake and that he did not deserve all the stuff that he had.
4.Do you feel that there was rivalry between Reece and Shane? Yes, because Shane was the star player at Shorelake and when he left, the kid that bought his house Reese became the star and they had a face off.
5.When Shane's Monthly checkup guy came to the house, did you feel when he said, " the Baseball coach is a very nice man", That the baseball coach was Granderson. Yes, I thought about that, and later on found out that granderson was the coach. When the counsiler said that he was a nice guy in a sarcastic but still serious manner i guessed it was granderson because he is the exact opposite.
Grant D
After reading 2/5 of High Heat, the book started to really pick up the pace. Last Friday we talked about the characters and how we were drawn to them. Last week's focus was much easier to right than the language. While discussing language was a much harder subject matter. We discussed that the author Carl Deuker uses vivid vocabulary that helps us visualize the story. Deuker also uses words that relate to our age group. Because of these words, we think that the book was directed towards students grade 7 to 11. This book is written in 3rd person so that the author can share the inter-most thoughts of a number of characters. Carl Deuker does a great job of using imagery , relating to his target audience, and keeping the story at a good pace.
We started off the meeting with another disappointment. None of the members had brought in food for our discussion. This is probably because we all have lunch right before the meeting. The first thing we did was talk about what was our favorite part of this section and what we did not like. After a general discussion about the book, we answered Tyler's Discussion questions. Then, we responded to Justin's quote and how we felt about each of them. Glen then asked us about the language of the book and we answered each question. We finished the meeting about 5 minutes early and I began writing this paragraph. I am excited for the next discussion about mood/tone yay!
Week Three: October 15
Topic: Mood/Tone (section 3 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? the biggest emotion is happiness even though his father kills him self. because he is able to accomplish so much. What examples back up your claim? when he started playing again and was doing well.
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
A Glenn
B Grant (absent so i did quotes)
C Tyler
D justin
B. Grant Quotes
"Riding home I thought about what my aunt Celia had said when my father was buried. I didn't want to hear it then because I didn't want to believe it. But she was right. No matter what happens to you, the world doesn't stop. Either you get on board or you dont." (Shane pg 187) WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK
A: This Shows that Shane is maturing and that he is getting over the death of his father. I proud of Shane and how he is turning his life around
" He's a fine young man, my mother said, looking at me and beaming. And he always was. He made a mistake, he faced it, and he learned from it. Didn't you Shane? WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK (Mr. Kraybill pg 190)
A. This once again shows that Shane has changed his life around. Mr. Kraybill, the parol officer is proud of Shane's Progress and so is his mom. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK
"It was the first time I had been on the mound in six months. I stared at homeplate, remebering how great it had felt to be on the mound with a baseball in my hand and a ball game on the line" (Shane pg 194)
A. This Shows that Shane has finally found his lost love for the game of baseball! WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK!
"Hating you won't get me back to where I was" ( Reese pg 199)
A. This shows that no only Shane is getting over his problems but Reese is as well.
" And Hows Reese Doing?"
"I Don't know, ok I guess."
A. This conversation shows that although Shane is coming back to his former self, Reese is still struggling.
Justin-D (Questions)
1. What do you think made Shane call Reese in the hospital after he hit him with the pitch?
- We think that Shane called Reese after he hit him with the pitch because he realized that even if Reese did take Shane's life of luxury after he moved he realized that Reese also had the same passion and love for baseball that Shane did. So, Shane knew he could have ended Reese's career and Shane just pictured what his life would be like without baseball.
2. Why do you think Shane didn't actually go into Reese's room in the hospital or want his mom to take him to see Reese?
- We think he didn't actually go and say sorry to Reese in the hospital because after a while of thinking Shane began to think that why should he be the one feeling sorry. His dad was the one that had just died and now the one living in city housing. So, the more and more he thought Shane began to think that even though Shane had gotten hit in the head that Reese still had it easier than him.
3. Why do you think Shane was so confident that he would be able to pitch the next game after he hit Reese in the head?
-Because he felt that hitting Reese was an accident. That Reese was leaning over the plate so he tried throwing a pitch up and in to back him off the plate, but the ball came loose and sailed into Reese's head. Shane got this so engraved in his head, he felt like it wasn't his fault and he would be able to pitch no problem.
4. Why do you think Shane had trouble pitching in the first game after he hit Reese in the head?
- Reese probably had trouble pitching in his first game since he hit Reese because when he got on the mound he started reliving the whole incident. When warming up Shane felt great; his pitches moving on their own. But, when Shane got on the mound and saw the batters, he just kept reminding himself of what happened with Reese.
5.How do you think Shane felt that Miguel Alvarez took his spot as closer for his team?
- Shane probably felt mad and angry that he took his spot, but at the same time he felt that Miguel deserved a shot a closing games if he couldn't do it. Shane knew that if he wanted to get the closer position back he would have to work his hardest to do it.
Tyler- D Summarizer
Now 3/5 the way into our book High heat, this book is not to bad and is more motivating to finish. Also this weeks discussion topic, Mood and tone gets us the readers more in depth about the story. Tone is the emotional atmosphere of the book as Mood is the emotions of the characters. The main tone in High heat i feel is when ever Shane thinks about his dad. This is a reoccurring theme in the novel and whenever Shane thinks about him something not so good happens to him. Shane the main character of our novel has several Moods, Shane was curios when he pegged Reese and he had to go to the hospital. Shane called the hospital and also made a trip there to see if Reese was OK. Also another one of shane's biggest moods is Nervousness. Whenever pitching on the sideline he does amazing, but hen he steps on the mound, everything falls apart because his nerves get to him.
This weeks actual in class discussion went very well. My group members and i had a thorough discussion about the book. Also this weeks topic mood and tone got us even more in depth. In class we started out just talking about this weeks reading, then went on to each and every one of our members parts. I feel that this weeks discussion was one of our best, and cant wait to have next weeks.
Week Four: October 22
Topic: Themes/Images (section 4 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning?
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
A Tyler
B. Grant quotes again =(
C. Glenn
D. Justin
A. Tyler- Group Leader
Most of the themes in the book High Heat are very significant to the story. Some major
B. Grant Quotes
" My arm felt strong as iron, and when I rocked and fired, it was pure smoke" (Shane pg 220)
A. This quote shows that Shane is back in action. Shane has not only got back his skill but he has become more confident and has an even better pitch
"I mean they'll see you too. Take Wood tonight. He asked a lot of questions about Kim, but also he asked a couple about you..."
A. This shows the possibility of Shane's Dream coming true. Now the idea of recieving a baseball scholarship is Shane's ultimate goal!
" There is someone here to meet you Shane, this is Coach Dravus from the University of Portland." (Coach Grandison pg. 225)
A. Before Shane was not sure that schools would actually look at him for scholarships. Coach Dravus from the University of Portland will be watching Shane, but now the pressure is on
" That afternoon the ball felt strange in my hand. I couldn't focus on homeplate, couldn't get comfortable on the mound. My pitcjes were wild and they had no movement..."
A. This shows that although Shane has been having great sucess on the mound, the pressure of recieving a college scholarship is getting to his head.
" Now he had looked worse than he'd looked in the summer. Worse than he had looked in December, January, and Feburary.."
A. Although Shane has overcome his fears pitching on the mound, Reese had yet to overcome this challenge. This shows that Reese is not the same and might never be his former self
Justin Schwarz- Summary C
This weeks group meeting was shorter than most of the other ones considering we had our vocab quiz and watched the spoof on Of Mice and Men. But, another disappointing thing about this weeks meeting was that nobody bought in food again. This weeks topic for our discussion was themes and images. Overall this weeks discussion was successful and we were able to get through all of our jobs and talk about this section of the book despite the shortened meeting.
First off this week, as a group we just discussed what went on during this weeks meeting. We talked about how the main characters of our book put their hatred behind them. Then, we talked about this weeks theme and which is the most reoccurring theme of the book. Once we all agreed on the theme and images of the book we discussed this weeks discussion questions that Glenn came up with and as a group and came up with answers to those. After we discussed these questions we went on to Grant's quotes and discussed them. We talked about why these quotes were important to the characters and plot to the book. After we did this our group meeting was basically over. Overall this group discussion was very successful.
Week Five: October 29 (LAST MEETING)
Topic: Responding to the Text (section 5 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum? (B)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page.
Book Club Schedule
You should divide your book into 5 equal sections. For example, if your book has 100 pages, you should have five 20 page sections. You should read the appropriate section for each meeting.Requirements:
Groups will decide appropriate penalties for group members who fail to uphold their responsibilities.
A Justin
B Tyler
C Grant
D Glen
A- Group Leader- Justin
Our overall impression of the final part of the book was that the book was a good book. It had a good plot and story-line to it and was interesting to read. It was also a pretty easy book to read language wise. The book had its twists and turns to it which made the book even more interesting. We decided that we would recommend this book to someone that either enjoys reading about sports, especially baseball. Or someone that enjoys reading about the twists and turns of real life. Because there were several times in this book that focused more on Shane's life than his baseball. So, this book would be good for many people to read considering the wide range of people that would enjoy reading it. Yes, we would recommend this book to friends or to be on the schools book list.
B.Tyler- Quotes
1."Shane, Whether you get a scholorship or not, that a college coach would consider you is an honor" This is when Shanes mom got the news about him being looked at by colleges. it is truely rare that a college coach would look at you. You have to have a real talent.
2. "Mom says she will try to go too some of your games" This is the first time that Shane's mom is making an effort to go to one of his games. She never went to one before. She is only going because of his scholarship purposes.
3. "Come on Reese" I said "Do it" This is Shane rooting for Reese in the championship game. Even though they are on opposite teams, they grew such a good relationship that they care about each other rather than the game.
4. "On the bench before the game we were tight. if we could just get a run in the first we would loosen up" i picked this quote because this is just how i feel in a game. When you play tense you do bad. If you score a run in the first you loosen up and have more fun and tend to do better.
5. "Im not going to beat around the brush Shane. I would like you to come to the University of Portland next year and pitch for us." This is when Shane gets proposed his scholarship. This is the happy ending of a sad story. Shane is a really lucky kid with lots of talent, and deserves what he earned.
C. Grant
1.Did you enjoy this book? If So what was your favorite part?
2. How would you feel if you were in Shane's position pitching against your former teammates?
3. What do you think Shane was feeling as he was pitching to Reese? Nervous, Confident, Scared.
4. What was the overall mood at the end of the story? How did it make you feel?
5. How has Shane changed from the beginning of the book to the end?
NOTE: If your book club has three members, the roles B and C should be combined; if your book club has five members, two students should take the role of C (5 questions each).